An assault by thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police officers to regain control of the southern port city of Basra stalled Wednesday as Shiite militiamen in the Mahdi Army fought daylong hit-and-run battles and refused to withdraw from the neighborhoods that form their base of power there.
American officials have presented the Iraqi Army’s attempts to secure the port city as an example of its ability to carry out a major operation against the insurgency on its own. A failure there would be a serious embarrassment for the Iraqi government and for the army, as well as for American forces eager to demonstrate that the Iraqi units they have trained can fight effectively on their own.
Now, as predicted yesterday, I fully anticipate from the distance of an entire hemisphere this operation will be declared a smashing success by the White House. The full ramifications of the operation will be known ONLY after Iraqi Jesus, General Petraeus, testifies before Congress. One way or another it will be claimed as treason to question him in any form that makes George Bush look ineffective or deceitful.
That sort of stuff is only useful for Democratic Primaries.
After all, everything undertaken in Iraq is immediately proclaimed a victory by the Bush Administration. Yesterday, Bush and the Pentagon were already portraying the action in Basra as a "VICTORY" for the surge.
So for those of you scoring at home, or at a Motel 6, when you're finished here is the the rundown:
- Horrific biblical levels of violence = Success
- Protracted intolerable levels of violence = Success
- A return to horrific levels of violence = Success
Iraq, a quality return on investment.
But wait, that's not all...NOW HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY?
A Basra newspaper editor who asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals said most residents despised the Mahdi Army and welcomed the assault. But he said it was obvious that the central government had not consulted with local commanders in planning the assault, citing the inability of the armored vehicles to fit through city streets. But support for the assault already seems to be eroding in several neighborhoods, as militiamen retained control of their strongholds and residents were confined in their homes. “The Mahdi Army is still controlling most of these places,” the editor said. “The result is negative.”
Local residents said the southern sections of Basra, mostly poor and heavily populated, were still controlled by the Mahdi Army on Wednesday night. One Mahdi commander bragged by telephone that after Iraqi armored vehicles failed to gain access to his neighborhood, the Army units fled and his fighters spray-painted Koranic slogans on the vehicles. The claim could not be independently verified.
Both Mahdi and Iraqi Army officers agreed that some of the heaviest fighting took place in the western Basra neighborhood of Hayaniya, where fighters attacked the Iraqi forces and then retreated into the neighborhood.
Col. Abbas al-Tamimi, media officer for the 14th Iraqi Army Division operating in the city, said he expected the fighting to escalate. “The gunmen have heavier and more sophisticated weapons than we have,” he said.
Oh, I'm sure it will all work out well in the end.
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szo?
Doh!
You forgot another out for the White House. Unfortunately the US didn’t train these troopes, the British Army did. Watch for the opinion to develop that they weren’t trained to be brutal (no make that “robust”) enough.
Did we give the Iraq army second rate armored vehicles which might explain their defeat. Or did we just send second rate Iraqi troops against the Madi army in our new expensive top of the line armored vehicles so that they could be captured?
If this fight is still going on I predict air strikes Bush cannot afford to let the myth of we stand down as the Iraqis stand up disappear. He can’t afford to give the Madi army our new armored vehicles either they must be destroyed by airstrikes or explosives.
Folks:
This is what I sent to ll my Facebook friends (all 670 of them) this morning:
Hi folks:
Something extraordinary happened at FDL yesterday. The powers that be at FDL banned me from posting on the front page for stupid and ironic reasons. Please read this comment and the thread that followed from FDL’s Late Late Nite….it might blow your mind, especially in light of the lip service paid to racism by most of FDL’s front-posters…This kinda shit needs to get out.
FDL moderators have also decided to censor all my comments on the site this morning…None of my comments are coming through…
This is the comment and the subsequent thread from FDL’s Late Late Nite…
OK, the FDL mods are still censoring my comments…
More goodness from Attaturk
Some clever person coined the word -spin- to twist the truth. It used to be called lying or propaganda or marketing or public relations or manufacturing consent.
We live in a world of false claims, where we are told war is peace, losing is winning, up is down, healthy forests and clear skies, and lies and more lies.
If someone’s (politician) lips are moving, chances are they are lying or don’t even know the difference between the truth and their own words. People are delusional, mis informed, speak about things they don’t have a clue about (Ms Rice), bully with words, intimidate. This applies to “captains” of industry as well.
The truth us usually closer to the precise opposite of what they say.
The “MSM” is masterful at saying nothing with lots of words or missing the point or willfully deceiving. Ms Miller and Jason Blair take a bow!
Attaturk! Update: When people are dying needlessly or screwing up it’s always a success! You didn’t know that?
Great post.
Anybody else get the sense that the “insurgents” are just basically just regular joes who are not willing to give their city over to the US?
the common theme of the cult of republicanism:
violence = Success
Ahem.
That dog won’t hunt.
Assholes.
I kind of got the sense that an “insurgent” is basically a body with an American bullet in it.
Lying Americans into a needless occupation = success by neocons
Yep. We’d be the same way if a country invaded ours. It also appears Sadr has control of the violence-level-dial too. Who is in charge over there? Wow.
Okay, going to work. Have a great day everyone!
I remember hearing how AlSadr was preparing in December 2003. Now it’s the usual, “who could have known?”
I find it funny that Al Maliki is threatening AlSadr. It’s like the kid in the playground that taunts the bully because Big Brother is standing behind him - and just like it has happened in the past (Bay of Pigs, Iraq in 2001, Vietnam) he will turn around to find himself alone and get clobbered.
‘mornin’, Attaturk…
Catch-22 applied to Iraq:
Violence is up, so the US can’t pull out because that would lead to chaos.
Violence is down, so the US can’t pull out because the plan is working.
Ooops-missing snark tag-
…/s
You would make the ideal prez. candidate *g*
Can anyone say $150/bbl oil?
How is this racism I disagree with you getting in that much trouble but flamewars on the Lake have been held for less. Are you suggesting the minority feminist community has different issues and topics of concern than the people here? Just what is the issue at disagreement here? Why do you think you are right,wrong, misunderstood whatever?
Blogs are not democratic. They are the creation of and owned by the people who start them.
Blogs do thrive with the contributions of intelligent provocative front pagers and interesting community of commenters.
Who knows why “management” does what they do at a news organization or a blog. Unfortunately they don’t share their deliberations with the riff raff. I suppose they do “censor” when they feel that the points expressed or the way they are expressed do not align with their own agenda.
I don’t agree with most people on all things, but I try not to be offensive and make personal attacks or even overatures. I am online in blogs to learn and to share my ideas… mostly to learn. I prefer to stick to facts and stay away from personalities. Coulter and Malkin are vile but I wouldn’t waste too much time on them. There are much bigger and nastier people out there.. Wolvowitz, Perle, … you know the list.
Beware of egos, both stroking them and clashing with them.
Some very interesting ideas are on this blog.
I’m dropping this now.
Left this on the earlier thread, and I’ll say it again here. Biodun, I sincerely hope you’ll change your mind. This old broad will miss your voice here. Please reconsider…
interesting developments at FDL, for two reasons:
(1)I’m the only FDL front-poster of color–so a double standard was set up for me–the worst kinda creepy racism that exists today, especially from people who should know better, and
(2)I have feminist credentials as a scholar…just look at all the books I published by and about feminists–some of whose writing career I launched...I was also Affiliate Scholar at the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies at the U of Minnesota in 2001…
Biodun, my friend (I hope)…
Slow down for a moment, take a deep breath, and please realize that you are a most valued commodity here - a voice of reason and truth.
I know that I already said it on late-late - but please stick around - I, for one, appreciate listening to a soul older than mine speak….
Why does a blog need a black front pager or a feminist one or a gay one? All these represent injustices, but this blog choses what battles to fight and may change its focus. I don’t think that’s racists, or anti feminist or anything. It just is.
I can’t even tell the race, age or gender of half the posters. It doesn’t matter. I am interested in their ideas.
I think so too. If everyone will just do it my way, it will all be very, very simple….*g*
What will it take for the critters in congress to see Iraq as the disaster it is and get us out of there?
Does this mean that the idea of “strategic interest” needs to be discussed. Why is there a presumption that we have these strategic interests around the world which we can’t “negotiate”/trade for as anyone who wants something does.
Brava to you for claiming “old broad” status. If I were female, I would claim it, wear it, and walk proudly with it…
There are times when being male isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be - best I can hope for is “eccentric old coot”.
I’ll trade ya that one for “cool old broad” any time…….
have a good day…..
…and the Mods are still censoring my comments…
What he said.
Boxturtle (I also hope Biodun will reconsider)
Does anyone seriously believe that even a nuclear Iran would actually be a threat to the USA? Just how would that be? What would they do? Expect from an “attack”? Can you project a scenario that we need to fear?
Now that is funny. At the rate I’m going i’d be quite happy with “eccentric old coot” :)
Biodun,
I woke up yesterday with an enormous feeling of dread. For the first time since early last fall, I felt that all the inroads progressives are making aren’t going to be enough to translate into more victories this coming November. Here in Alaska, for sure, but nationwide too.
I was so bummed, at first I wanted to lash out. Then I wanted o blame myself for not doing enough. Then I went out and drove around and walked around for hours.
I feel better today, but still feel that things are unravelling all around me. It isn’t my family or personal life. I feel a disturbance of the progressive “force” field. That’s what’s happening.
Thanks! I’m aspiring to “crone” after I retire, or when I turn 70, whichever comes first.
What is odd about internet comments is that we project personality onto them. I have thought many “females” are males. Is that some sort of prejudice or stupidity?
This is especially true of “weird screen nicks” with don’t convey gender.
Biodun,
Are you, my friend, able to see that your friends are speaking to you?
Your comments are showing up, as to whether they are censored, from this end we cannot tell.
I missed whatever happened, but I did read the links you provided.
My sense is that almost everyone’s nerves are frayed …
This fucking primary has gone way too fucking long.
Ahhhh, the third Biodun comment thread of the day. I have tried to keep my yap shut, but since it keeps coming up…
I have never found anything particularly offensive in Bioduns writings, for that matter, I didn’t think the disagreement over the other nights comments got that out of hand.
With that said, Joefish made some interesting points here and here.
Now I don’t know these twin city guys from adam, but it could be that these guys know Biodun as well as most of us… …or maybe they are lying scum.
It seems like there is enough ass-hattery in the world that we could just skip these silly little online feuds… …all of us.
Do you think that we are like puppets on a string who believe that there is no puppet master and then realize that we are powerless and are talking to each other and no one is listening?
That and stop giving medical advice to trial lawyers *g*
I believe you caught the ‘feel’ of the ‘moment’ (only a moment, I hope) precisely and have described it most accurately.
I think you would be a most excellent “crone.”
Waking up and finding out that it really is as bad as we’d feared-other than that-no.
I missed whatever preceded this, but please don’t leave. We need all voices.
Back to Attaturk’s post — This from AFP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday said an eruption of violence in southern Iraq, where US-backed government forces were battling Shiite militias, was a “by-product of the success of the surge.”
(Calling Monty Python)
Sure. While Iran would not attack America directly, the idea of them slipping a weapon into the hands of one of their proxys is not unreasonable.
It’s not like when we dealt with the Soviets. At the end of the day, the Soviets were RATIONAL. They weren’t going to start a war that would end in Mutual Destruction.
The Iranian leadership strikes me as religious fanatics. The desturction of their country in the name of God would not bother them, as long as they took the Great Satan with them.
That’s why I worry about Iran.
Boxturtle (But I don’t worry about North Korea. Kim loves life)
Noooooo!!!!
Don’t ever give up “cool old broad” status - you earned it - wear it proudly. God knows I would.
“Crone” is something from a Mel Brooks movie - feh.
And there is no longer any reason for me to be here - courts are open, and I’ve got stuff to do. Later, y’all….
This whole bru ha ha is confusing since I have no idea what it’s about. Last I read Biodun was sending little billet dous comments to Jane Hamsher and this am I read he is being shitcanned.
Don’t come online when you are drinking. Weird shit happens.
With that said, Joefish made some interesting points here and here.
Well, did you see my own comment here? You’re being selective in what you’re citing here…
My nephews and nieces refer to me as “old fart” and “curmudgeon”
Smite the wicked, jayt.
Isn’t that great! War is peace!
Biodun
Check your mail at the hoo.
Um, yeah, did I mention I’m a janitor? Medical advice? Me? Nah, must’ve been someone else. Not me….
*gulp*
And the American leadership is what…..
There’s an interesting discussion on temporary workers on CSPAN now
Probably makes no difference, but this white Mennonite woman doesn’t want you to disappear.
I’m not saying you are wrong… …but I do think that is how you are supposed to see them. Not rational. Can’t be reasoned with. No other choice but to bomb ‘em!
I don’t think they are any more irrational than the Soviets or the USA. I also don’t think that slipping a nuke to some mischief makers would be a doomsday scenario. It would be god awful for sure.
But think about it. We dropped 2 nukes in Japan and they came roaring back as one of the 3 top economies in the world.
Terrorism of the type we fear is mischief and not on the order of magnitude that we reign on civilians around the world. We are the terrorists to fear!
“Crone” is actually a good thing to aspire to — think “wise woman.”
I’m only dipping in for a minute, but you are describing something that I’ve been feeling. Walking helps to allay it a bit, and I don’t think it will affect my intention to work and contribute (contribution went to Diane Benson last week!), but the fuckery is deep and we need not be deluded that this will be easy or that the way is necessarily clear.
I’m not sure about this..nuclear weapons are extremely traceable, and they would have to know that if a nuclear bomb went off here and was traced to them, it would be nuclear annihilation for them, not just your normal garden-variety military response..
Something tells me that the Irakis want their country back….
‘BAGHDAD — Thousands of supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad on Thursday to protest against a three-day-old crackdown against his followers and call for the downfall of the U.S.-backed government.
Mass demonstrations were held in the Sadr City, Kadhimiya and Shula districts. An Interior Ministry source said hundreds of thousands had taken to the streets.’
http://www.theglobeandmail.com......wiraq0327
Our American leadership is worse…STUPID religious fanatics. I’d take all the weapons away from BushCo if only I could.
Boxturtle (I suspect more countries are worried about Bush’s bomb than Iran’s)
Growing up in Europe we were far more worried about the US starting a war, dropping nukes and generally creating mayhem than the Soviets. We figured they were way to smart than to drop a nuke in their own back yard. My opinion has not changed, I still think the US is the most dangerous country.
I was heartened by the publicity the firepups received when Janes’ filing of a complaint re: McCain’s lawbreaking hit the MSM yesterday. The work here makes a difference.
Cool! I don’t watch TV what did corp. media say?
I gave a cheer when I heard the CNN story!
Go Jane!
…scores have fled FDL because of the bullshit that’s been going on here in the past several weeks…punaise, Richmond, and others…TRex was banned, and doesn’t even have FDL on his blogroll…
Wake up people!!! FDL is a tyranny…run by people who have chosen to suppress voices of difference, and the fact the powers that be chose to use a double standard to engage the only FDL front-poster person of color speaks volumes, in spite of the lip service paid to race by those same powers that be…now this is the worst stereotype ever, and I’m really disappointed.
I will spread this info far and wide about FDL…I have the means…Just Google me people…
~~~~~~~~~
All I can say is whoa…
I don’t think any of us is above reproach. If we say something that offends another, I would expect the moderators to speak up.
Well done Iraqis!!!!! Kick the godamn ‘mercuns the hell out of your country and do it fast.
Didn’t say that. We can reason with them. We don’t need to bomb them. But letting then aquire Nukes changes the equation. And I honestly don’t know if they’re trying to do that or not. They have to know the consequences of having a bomb program discovered and proven in the West.
The question is, would they care as long as they took us with them? Dunno.
Boxturtle (Is it worth the risk? Ask Obama, it’ll be his decision)
I wonder what Lieberman’s senile lapdog, er, John McCain, will have to say about this?
“More proof that we must stay in Iraq FUH-EVA!”
You know, a lot of us knew this fucking “surge” wouldn’t work. But we were hoping - against our knowledge of the facts - that it might.
The day bedfore yesterday, as news of Sadr’s renewed militancy started to filter out, I listened to wingnut AM-radio local talkers blame the failure of the “surge” on liberals, who have been secretly or openly hoping for its failure all along, therefore aiding the terrorists.
Yes, they are tracable to a point. But if they’ve never run a test and one of their bombs go off in LA, our ability to point the finger at iran is likely to be limited.
Frankly, I think it will be a Pakistani bomb that goes off in America first.
Boxturtle (Would like to be wrong, but that’s what i fear)
And how about these comments by me from the link you provided:
and this:
Juan Cole has some pretty good reporting on what’s going on in Basra and throughout Iraq: http://www.juancole.com/2008/0.....-army.html
You really can’t talk about Iran wanting a bomb without mentioning Dimona. Yes, Iran’s possible bomb is frightening, but in my book Israel’s real one is much more so.
By the way, Biodun, this old white male Brit wants you to stay around too. Sit down, do whatever makes you calm, count to 100 or whatever and come back. No one’s out to get you.
more censorship from FDL Mods…you can’t suppress the voicesof freedom!!!
I don’t like the revenge notion of that comment This would involve the annihilation of millions of innocent people. That would be preposterous.
here ya go
Mornin’ All
Who’s to say it won’t be a homegrown USA fanatic who gets a bomb?
Remember Tom Leher? Only it won’t be Alabama.
What exactly is the problem. I don’t do “face book” so I have no way of know what this is about.
Unfortunately, our moral authority to freak out about this kind of thing is somewhat undermined by our refusal to notice that Israel has covertly developed 200-300 nuclear warheads, with nary a peep from us…
A single bomb set off, horrible as it is is no reason to wipe out millions of innocent people.
Show some sense please.
Former Editor at U. of Minnesota Press Drops Race-Bias Lawsuit
Did you mean this lawsuit? h/t Smgumby
‘Biodun Iginla, who sued the University of Minnesota Press last year charging sexual harassment and racial discrimination, has withdrawn his lawsuit.
Mr. Iginla was a senior editor for the press until his contract was not renewed last year. In his lawsuit, he claimed that the non-renewal was retaliation for his having filed a complaint…
http://chronicle.com/che-data/.....a01604.htm
Biodun, I’ve benefited and appreciated your postings and comments. Please kick back for a bit and return.
Is Al Sadr and meltdown in Basra Bush and Cheney’s ticket to attack Iran? It is not difficult to make the link: Al Sadr is sponsored by Iran, Al Sadr is waging war in Iraq, therefire we must bomb Iran.
Why else would US be forcing Al Maliki to try to impose control over Al Sadr now when he has never been able to? Nothing has changed (other than Al Sadr being better armed and having hundreds of thousands of followers/soldiers) in Iraq so why would Al Maliki go and threaten the tenuous reduction in viuolence thatr has been achieved?
Call me paranoid, but I see Dick Cheney all over this debacle.
Don’t forget the USA the only nation to drop nukes and we did it on two cities of civilian population not military installation.
Explain that tactic.
Yes. It would be preposterous. That said, “massive retaliation” has been stated US policy in the event of a WMD attack on the US for a long time.
Gotta run. See everyone later.
biodun, i left a comment in the late-late thread #253.
it is specific.
i think you are referencing the wrong remarks, as i state in my comment. a ’watch the birdie over here’.
i find it interesting that you would harm fdl with a vengeance, a threat you issued in your remarks last night-which is harming all of us, just to prove a point. says a lot to me. the purpose of this blog is changing politics, you want to put a personal issue above all of the work that everyone does and what this site offers to educate because you’re pissed and can’t resolve your issue with the person/s it’s really about.
you are articulate, you are intelligent, you are being emotional and striking out and it isn’t going to bring about a good result for anyone this way.
why is that not a concern for you?
you don’t harm the many to take out the few………that’s what bush does. i have heard you state this, it only works for someone else?
===========
attaturk–yesterday on the radio, i heard that the mahdi army had three days to give up their arms, and then never heard it again? anyone else hear this? maybe it was a mistaken report and they pulled it, but i’ve been waiting to hear something about it and looking, and have found nada.
Anyway folks:
It’s 9:09 PM Thursday night here in Hong Kong—I had a great day, jetlag at bay, and I’m about to out to dinner with my friend Eva–I get to work tomorrow morning (Hong Kong Time)…
ta ta folks–see y’all in the next life….
The Republican spin-meisters must look like pretzels this morning. Let’s see. When things in Iraq are faux peaceful, the surge is working, illustrating clearly that a Republican administration is essential. No, wait. When Americans die, it’s a key aspect of Junior’s grand plan and it’s all worth it. He said so, illustrating that a Republican administration is essential. No, wait. When things are so bad in Iraq that even the press can’t suppress it, it’s a sign that, ummm, Iraqi militants are weighing in, saying, ummm, they really want a Democratic president in the U.S. so they can create mayhem and train al Qaeda terrorists. Clearly, a Republican administration is essential. Etc., etc., etc.
How long before Iraqi government forces begin to go over to the insurgents.” The Shah’s army supported him until it was apparent they couldn’t stop the Ayetolla’s. At that point they went over to the “revolution.” Wonder how Bush and the MSM will try and spin the defection of Iraqi government forces switching sides?
We lost our moral authority with the 2nd Iraq war, the CIA black sites and Gitmo and…Oh, heck, you know the rest.
I’m not looking at this as moral authority. Israel is NOT a threat to America. They won’t use Atomics unless their existance is threatened. They had ‘em in 1967 and 1973 and didn’t use them.
Iran worries me.
Boxturtle (If Israel didn’t have the Nukes, they’d likely have been destroyed by now)
ohmygosh, I love(d) Lehrer. “So long mom, I’m off to drop a bomb, so don’t wait up for me. Though you may swelter down there in your shelter, you can see me, on your teevee. While Brink-a-ley and Hunt-a-ley are describing contrapuntally the battles we have lost, no need to miss a single moment of the agonizing holocaust, yeah-ah.” Of course, that was back in the day when the media actually did their job.
I don’t understand why Iran having nukes would worry you.
This BBC report res. Iraq’s civil war is comprehensive
‘If Israel didn’t have the Nukes, they’d likely have been destroyed by now’
And if they and the US had played fairly with the Middle East/Palestinian people, there would be peace in the Middle East now.
One question to ask the Bush and the Republics is “Why is Iraq still a member of OPEC?” Think about that next time you fill up.
That could be depending on how you define “threat”.
Ifwhen israel bombs Iran that is a threat to America. As long as the Israelis continue to suppress and murder Palestinians that is a threat to America. As long as their is AIPAC that is a threat to AmericaThe Math
“Violence = success” only seems dubious if you leave out the crucial middle steps that are the deifference between math and The Math. So let me give you the complete version:
Violence = destruction
destruction = need to rebuild
need to rebuild = reconstruction contracts
reconstruction contracts = opportunities for Haliburton to excel
opportunities for Haliburton = success
And the beauty of this math, is that it can be repeated again and again and again, for 10,000 years if necessary. You can bet that some of the stuff that’s being blown up in Basra right now was built by Haliburton after the last round of violence. And after they’re through charging us 10X what the job’s worth to rebuild after this round of violence, some way will have to be found to destroy it all over again. Increase, discard, repeat — it’s the American Way.
Because I think that if they aquire nukes, those nukes will be used. By Iran or one of their proxies. Against us or Israel. I don’t trust any government driven primarly by religion.
Boxturtle (I may be wrong. But if I’m right….)
And that is precisely why one should not trust israel.
got it..i responded…thanks!!!
Truer words were never spoken.
Boxturtle (But in our defense, the Palistinines have never missed an oppertunity to miss an oppertunity)
GWB: “The surge is working! Repeat - the surge is working! Keep saying it until everyone believes it!”
That tastes like neocon kool-aid to me. I just don’t see it.
Who said anything about trusting Israel? I’m just confident that they won’t nuke US!
Boxturtle (If they did, they’d run out of spare parts in a year)
It was not the Palestinians that did not remove their settlements after “peace” agreement.
I cannot argue with that point. I DON’T know, I don’t claim to know. But I worry.
Boxturtle (Drink of the morning is Diet Raspberry White Tea. But they could have slipped koolaid into it)
From what I can gather, the current situation is the result of an offensive by al-Maliki and his government to wrest control of the Basra region of a coalition of Shiite malitias led by Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. It seems likely that this offensive was launched at the behest of the Bush Administration. The Basra region is responsible for over a half, and possibly two thirds, of Iraq’s 100-billion-dollars per year oil production.
BoxTurtle,
It’s never made sense to me that Israel would be nuked. Why destroy the land that the Palestinians want, that is so valued to Arabs, and is so holy in Islam?
Amazing, very day you are amazing.
Good morning from L.A. An excellent 1st post this a.m., attaturk.
OT- Been faxing DiFi about this since Mukasey made the decision. Seems finally she’s woken up enough to question it. Stay awake, Diane, we’re all watching what you do:
Feinstein Grills Mukasey About Closed Corruption Unit
I can only speak for myself but I think the disappointment with the Democratic Congress is beginning to take a toll on all of us. We went into November 06 fighting like hell and Congress went as flat as a popcorn fart. Now we have the never ending primary with little of real substance coming from either camp. The pros and cons of the early primary in Florida will be debated for…evah. Tempers are fragile and getting short.
Patience. We as a society have become so accustomed to instant gratification that we expect it in all things. It’s going to take more than a few election cycles before a progressive agenda finally makes itself top dog in the governing of our country. If that’s what you’re in this for and you’re willing to fight for the next ten years or so, then settle down, take a deep breath. There are many fights ahead.
Peace Love Light
Good gawd — spit that out! Don’t you know it’s poisonous?
This whole Nuc thing is BS, anyone wanting one, can just buy one from Pakistan on the black market. Ask Valerie Plame, that was her area of expertise. Oh wait, Bush Co shut her down….
Iran is legally entitled to Nuclear power and is also a signatary of the Non-Prolification (?) Treaty (Israel on the other hand , Hmmm)
All Right Wing Conservatives have left to offer is blame. They have been in charge for the last 7 years, have set the strategy, been respobsible for the execution. Since all of this has crumbled around them all they can do is blame it on someone else. Liberals are the scapegoats for GOP incompetence.
Great! Good work!
I don’t care if X is in Hong Kong having sushi or sim sum or chatting up some person named Eva. This is totally noise as far as I am concerned. In fact, this comment is noise.
Our world is going to hell in a hand basket and this blog made just prevent that. We need to focus on the good work that goes on here in raising consciousness and direct political action, faxes, calls, complaints, demos, meet ups whatever moves the progressive agenda along.
Humor is always appreciated but when we become a chat room we are going off message.
Stay focused and struggle.
lol :) yeah, the white tea sounds better.
Well of course the bushies want Maliki to show that his gummint is viable so that we can use our troops to fight in Iran
I am not amazing. But I am not sure I understand that one. Do you? If so please explain.
While Jerusalam would likely be safe, none of the other Israeli cities have that degree of respect to Islam (somebody correct me here, I’m NOT an expert on moslem holy sites). Tel Aviv for sure would be a target.
I get the impression, especially from Iran, that the destruction of Israel is more important than Palistine.
Boxturtle (A suicide bomber with a nuke in a van is a scary thought)
You understand the Japanese in WWII, right? They were not giving up.
No more so than a decrepit old senator in the WH with his finger on the button
The “destruction” of Israel need no be a literal destruction. It can also mean that the state apparatus is dismantled and a non theocratic (or another theocratic even)state takes its place. Destruction can mean “regime change” and can be a velvet revolution without a shot being fired.
Words words words.
Agreed, in spades!
Boxturtle (McBush would scare any sane person)
thank you BoxTurtle.
Re; wiping Israel off the map…
‘Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran’s president has threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, “Israel must be wiped off the map.” Contrary to popular belief, this statement was never made.’
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/no.....leid=11025
And just because…
How the US Supplied Iran with Nuclear Know-How
http://www.counterpunch.org/landau09092005.html
I don’t want to get into a big argument about WWII. I lost relatives in that war and my father served. I don’t approve of dropping nukes on civilian targets or cluster bombs.
If we go to war we should fight their soldiers. I know this is such a quaint notion. I just cannot sanction killing innocent people.
Howard Zinn seems to think the same. He flew sorties in WWII. People change. They have “epiphanies”.
The USA never did and has 10s of thousands of nukes and adapted a strategy of MAD. If there is war no one can be left standing. Is that childish nonsense or what?
BoxTurtle,
There is no reason to believe that Israel’s existence is tied to its possession of nuclear, thermonuclear and enhanced radiation weapons. There is no reason to believe that Israel’s possession of such weapons has been the reason less countries within range of those weapons have thought about developing their own nuclear arsenals than would have, had the Israelis not possessed their nuclear arsenal.
Rather, all countries within range of the Israeli weapons who have contemplated developing their own, have listed the existence of the Israeli arsenal, in combination of four generations of Israeli attacks upon neighboring countries by the latter, as their main reason for wishing to possess a deterrent.
wrong lawsuit–this one was filed in 1996. Different lawsuit…the one against Steve Saroff was filed in 2001…I was quite busy with lawsuits and lawyers in those days…Been around the block a bit, during Web 1.0…I have quite a lot of experience with sockpuppets and such…*G*
The 13 colonies were wiped off the map as was the confederacy. Map wiping should be confined to the warriors please.
I thought you didn’t like us anymore?
Thanks. Wish I could think it was my faxes that lit a fire under DiFi. They always generate a robo reply, & the very occasional specific reply to content of the fax.
More coffee needed here- the decision to dissolve the corruption unit investigating Lewis was made by O’Brien, the local USA. I didn’t mean that Main Justice/Mukasey made the decision- no evidence of that…yet.
opps, left off the /s taggy thing…
Lawsuits are often petty, though not always and always it is the lawyers who come out winners. We don’t have a very effective justice system despite what legal scholars claim.
Try to avoid lawyers at all cost by being very clear in your relationships.
Can someone explain to me what happened with Biodun and TRex? I’m clicking links, and I’m not seeing why anyone is upset with anyone else. I didn’t even realize TRex had been banned.
The British who occupied Basra till recently considered the Americans to be astoundingly incompetent in every respect. The Americans sound a bit over-qualified in the cock-up department. The nerve that these people have waltzing in and making a great pig’s breakfast of everything that was great about the country they invaded without approval from the American people.
on a personal note:
all of this is especially painful, quite painful in fact and quite ironic, that this is happening. It’s been no secret that I’m in love with Jane..and that she once told me (among some other fascinating stuff she’s told me over the months…) that I was more of a feminist than she was…
so all this stuff the past coupla days haven’t made any sense to me and have in fact been quite surprising. But I won’t dwell on it…
The writer Jean Rhys observed years ago, prescient of blogs, methinks:
Front paging…and commenting here…are not entitlements. We are all guests at Jane and Christy’s [and team] shore lunch. If the hosts make changes or choices you disagree with, feel free to start your own place and comment away.
But consider, before lashing out how your finger pointing reflects back on you. Whoever you may be. Call it the Tonya Harding principle. Didn’t turn out so well for Tonya…not lookin’ real savvy for a certain presidential candidate…and not flattering from a commenter I never before had reason to be disappointed by.
Tone is subjective, arbitrary, and maybe even unfair from time to time. But one thing tone is not around this place is a matter of color. And crying foul using that is out of bounds IMPO.
ThingsComeUndone at 4:
of course we wouldn’t give the Iraqi army our second-rate vehicles. Those are for our troops.
I am in love with Jane too! Of course, I hardly know the woman and only met her once.
Who in their right mind isn’t in love with Jane?
But acting like a fool and gushing is so teeny bopper ain’t it?
Frankly I don’t care about your feminist credentials, as much as I care how you treat human beings.
Hmmm, is Maliki being side-lined?
Bush is losing friends everywhere..(new folks in Pakistan etc)
‘The Iraqi government was holding talks with aides of al-Sadr in Najaf on Thursday to try to end the crisis, Liqa Ali Yassin, a member of Sadr’s 32-member parliamentary bloc, said.’
http://english.aljazeera.net/N.....C9B1A6.htm
Raven seems to hop all over my comments. No biggie, Raven is a smart well intention commenter who has a different POV. I don’t lose sleep. How can I?
Heard on the car radio a short time ago a report that the Pentagon cancelled a multi-million [billion?–hard to listen with two spaniels yappin’ in your ears] ammunition contract with a 22 year old kid business owner from FL who was buying defective ammo overseas that was being shipped to Afghanistan for use by our allies.
Here we go again “winning” friends and “influencing” people.
Oh Pleeese, and just how many Irakis have died since we got to Irak ? Mr ‘can’t remember shit’ McCain
‘John McCain, the presumptive US Republican presidential candidate, has warned against a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, saying “genocide” could follow a pullout’
http://english.aljazeera.net/N.....E4BB91.htm
Ok oops sorry double post…
Is there trouble at the Lake re; double posts???
Yeah, That was in the news box last night.
Supplier Under Scrutiny on Aging Arms for Afghans
From the NY Times via page 2 of FDL News Box
Thanks for the links, guys….
More good news /s
‘WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy nearly sputtered out at the end of the year and is probably faring even worse now amid continuing housing, credit and financial crises.’
http://www.breitbart.com/artic....._article=1
np! i always forget to look there too :)
needs a news ticker thing by the comment box or something.
GOP rule # 579. Deaths only count when they want them to count.
-G
I think a news ticker by the comment box would be good. Once I open a tab and enter a thread, I may not get back to the homepage [and newsbox] at all…follow the links and arrows instead. Others may be likewise.
You know, Biodun, Raven, Sander, Boxturtle,ET,Nomolos, tw3k, and all the rest of you, brothers and sisters …
I used to wax poetic ’bout the COURAGE, TOLERANCE and UNDERSTANDING I experienced at this site.
Muh glasses must be dirty and scratched today, and I’m hearing lots of static lately, too - damned old ears …
And muh thoughts, muh pretty thoughts, muh hopeful thoughts, muh stoopid dreams …. must still be asleep or sumthin’ …
Monopoly on TRUTH? Not me, wouldn’t touch the stuff … ain’t smart enuf or well-edjucayted enuf for that …
Know muh own truths, but gots to deal wid ‘em my own self.
The larger ‘truth’? You ALL know what that is, don’t ya?
We culls ‘em like we sees ‘em, eh?
Thinnin’ the ‘ranks’ or rankin’ the ‘thin’?
Have we really got all the time in the world to grow up or, is life, as a poet once said, ‘just a joke’?
Rule Number 5: ‘Don’t take yourself too seriously.’ And, as Laura Doty pointed out, ‘There are no other rules …’
Not a lecture, just a wee concern.
But, take it as you will.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush called the fighting in Basra a “positive moment”
Another Mission Accomplished moment?
McCain sounds almost totally unhinged. Sounds like Faye Dunaway at the end of Chinatown:
“I’m a warmonger, I’m a peacemaker, I’m a warmonger, I’m a peacemaker.”
-G
Nicely said :)
many thanks…
Holy Mother Mary of God!
Sounds like sound advise.
I just hate common sense *g*
Thank you. I agree. It’s great that friendships have developed and God knows we need a support group, but the personal chat does often take over the great information exchange I come here for.
bush-irony just follows him around……..
co-chair of bush fundraiser, in dayton, ohio tonight, convicted of laundering $12,000 of campaign money to gop in 1993
http://www.wdtn.com/Global/story.asp?S=8074427
same story, but a link for dayton newspaper for those who like different papers to read-
http://www.daytondailynews.com.....aiser.html
It’s important to remember that Sadr is not an ally of Iran - Maliki and Hakim are.
The WH and media are twisting what’s happening in Iraq and pointing to Iran since they don’t want us to realize that we are actually fighting a nationalist uprising.
Great explanation can be found here: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/80580/
In other words: No matter what happens Iran wins!
Yeah, and the Bush/Cheney/neocon Pakistan policy seems to be falling apart at the same time. When it rains it pours. Looks as if Bush’s Pakistan strategy is falling apart at the same time. After all these years, is the Bush administration’s Pakistan policy finally coming unstuck? It looks as if Musharraf’s days are numbered, and since the administration put all its Pakistani eggs in one basket, the same seems to be true of a cornerstone of their GWOT policy. Just one more way that events elsewhere in the world continue to affect the U.S. while most of us don’t even notice, distracted as we are by the media circus that passes for coverage of the presidential primaries.
But you’re right. It will turn out well in the end — all they have to do is blame Iran for all of it and bomb bomb bomb Iran to get this thing cleaned up once and for all. That would work — right?